When online classes head outdoors

about much more than the schoolwork.

BY JO DAVIS JDAVIS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

ere are some things that kids cannot learn in an online classroom.

at’s why Destinations Career Academy of Colorado social studies teacher Hunter Sta ord started Outdoor Leadership for CODCA students.

“Outdoor Leadership is a Career and Technical Education class at CODCA, a public, mostly online high school that serves students across the state of Colorado,” a school spokesperson said.

e class is hybrid in that it is conducted via Zoom for much of the year. e students have lectures, book discussions and projects, but four times a year, they get to go outside for the class, too.

e course is written, taught and guided by Sta ord. He designs the lessons for the Zoom classes and the outdoor trips. ey take about four trips a year.

First Aid certi cation near Westminster in October and snowshoed three miles to High Lonesome Hut near Fraser in February.

On all of these trips, the students learned some kind of survival skills, like avalanche safety, navigation and environmental safety.

e nal trip was a rafting trip combined with volunteer work with Je co Open Spaces. e students volunteered at Crown Hill Park on

“We rafted down class three whitewater, dodging rocks and getting splashed by rapids along the way,” Sta ord said.

Afterward, Sta ord heard some good feedback from the students, who had great things to say about the trip.

“Some students were nervous to raft but ended the day with ‘I LOVE rafting!’” Sta ord said.

Sta ord explained that the class is

“Outdoor Leadership at CODCA is a pretty cool place where kids of many di erent backgrounds and levels of comfortability in nature come together and spend extended periods of time in Colorado’s public lands,” Sta ord said. “ e relationships, connection to nature and con dence gained from these experiences will stay with each student in their own unique way for the rest of their lives.”

His program is designed to work alongside the CODCA curriculum. He’s not subverting the importance of online school. e school has found that o ering the option is necessary in today’s world.

Instead, Sta ord is trying to give students access to Colorado’s outdoors, a space he has found personally healing.

“I care deeply about spending time in nature,” he said. “It has healed me, taught me life lessons and brought me close to many special people in my life. Unfortunately, there are many barriers to spending time in nature. Fear of risks, transportation issues, access, cost of gear and many more reasons keep kids and adults from experiencing the joy of the natural world.”

For more information on CODCA, visit the website.